BINGHAMTON, N.Y. &#8211; A gunman blocked the back door of an immigration services center with his car before walking through the front door firing, wounding at least six people and taking as many as 41 hostage, officials said.

Mayor Matthew Ryan told the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin that there was a hostage situation involving a gunman with a high-powered rifle.

The FBI was sending hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to the scene, said a law enforcement official who was not authorized to speak about details of an ongoing hostage response and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The gunman barricaded the rear door of the American Civic Association with his car before entering through the front door, firing his weapon, the official said.

The newspaper reported 41 hostages in the building of the American Civic Association and said apartments were being evacuated.

Emergency dispatchers were in contact with some people inside by phone, WBNG-TV reported. The gunman might still be in the building, the newspaper reported. The Binghamton SWAT team responded.

Indications were that the shooter was a young male, and it wasn't immediately clear whether he was still in the building, the law enforcement official said.

Five people with gunshot wounds were being treated at Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, according to hospital spokeswoman Christina Boyd.

The wounded ranged in age from 20 to their mid-50s, and their conditions ranged from stable to critical, she said.

Linda Miller, a spokeswoman at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, confirmed that a student from Binghamton University was being treated at the emergency room.

A police dispatcher who spoke to The Associated Press wouldn't confirm a number of people shot or injured.

Around 1 p.m., Pennie Kerber, 72, told the AP in a phone call from her home across the street that the scene appeared to be settling down.

"The cops are all standing around in the front now. They're still all over the roof for sure," she said. "The SWAT shooters that were to the side of the building look like they're not there any more. It looks like it's clearing."

The area is in a stretch on the west side of the Chenango River in the city of about 45,000 near the Pennsylvania border. Emergency vehicles lined the streets in the neighborhood, a mix of homes and small businesses.

College student Leslie Shrager told the AP that she and her five housemates were sleeping when police pounded on the front door of their house next door to the shooting scene.

Officers escorted the six Binghamton University students outside, she said, and that's when they learned of the shooting.

"One of our housemates thought they heard banging of some kind. But when you're living in downtown Binghamton, it's always noisy," said Shrager, of Slingerlands, an Albany suburb. "Literally two minutes later the cops came and got us out."

The American Civic Association describes itself as helping immigrants and refugees with counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification and translators.

It also intervenes with emergencies, including fighting, hunger and homelessness, according to information from the association's Web site.

(CNN) -- A lone gunman began shooting Friday in an immigration services building in Binghamton, New York, killing at least four people, a law enforcement source close to the situation said.

The source said more than a dozen were wounded.

Police on the scene told CNN affiliate WBNG that up to 12 people were killed in the shooting. Two people were seen being led from the building in plastic handcuffs, WBNG reported.

The man began shooting in the American Civic Association, which helps immigrants and refugees, the source said.

The source said a citizenship test was being administered in the building, but it was not immediately clear whether the shooting occurred in the area where people were taking the test.

The source said there may be 20 to 40 people who have been taken hostage.

The local newspaper, the Press & Sun-Bulletin, said on its Web site that at least four people were shot and 41 people had been taken hostage. Watch cops swarm to scene of 'multiple deaths' »

It said sharpshooters from the city's SWAT team were poised outside the building.

Video from the scene showed a person on a stretcher being taken to an ambulance. Watch interactive view of shooting scene

The Press & Sun-Bulletin said about 10 people came out of the building shortly after noon. They emerged with their hands on their heads. The police searched some of them, the newspaper reported.

Around 12:40 p.m., another 10 -- clad in white sheets -- came out of the rear of the building, the newspaper said.

Frank Rozboril, a spokesman for Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital, which is in the city, said the hospital had one person who had been at the association in the emergency room. Rozboril said the patient, who arrived around 12:30 p.m., was being assessed.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said the FBI is sending hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to the scene. The agency has an office in Binghamton, and agents are being sent from offices in Albany and Syracuse as well.

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The newspaper said the incident began around 10:30 a.m. ET. Nearby apartments were being evacuated and Binghamton High School is on lockdown, it said.

The American Civic Association helps immigrants and refugees with a number of issues, including personal counseling, resettlement, citizenship and reunification, and provides interpreters and translators, according to a United Way of Broome County Web site, which is affiliated with the association.

Rashidun Haque, who owns a nearby convenience store, said police had him and his four customers stay inside and away from the windows.

"I'm really shaky because this kind of thing -- it's a small city, it's a beautiful city -- but nothing goes down serious like this," Haque said. Watch store owner describe police 'flooding the streets' »

He said the Civic Association building is about a two-minute walk from downtown.

New York Gov. David Paterson issued a statement saying it was "a tragic day for New York." He said he had directed state police to assist the Binghamton Police Department. "I speak for all of New York when I offer my prayers for the victims and families of this tragedy," Paterson said.

By WILLIAM KATES, Associated Press Writer William Kates, Associated Press Writer &#8211; 11 mins ago
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. &#8211; A gunman opened fire at an immigration services center in downtown Binghamton on Friday, killing as many as 13 people before authorities found him dead, officials said.

Gov. David Paterson said at a news conference that 12 or 13 people had been killed.

A law enforcement official said the body of the man believed to be the gunman was found in an office of the American Civic Association building. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the details of an ongoing hostage situation and was talking on condition of anonymity.

The gunman barricaded the rear door of the building with his car before entering through the front door, firing his weapon, the official said.

It wasn't clear whether the gunman was included in the number of dead provided by the governor.

The Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin reported that citizenship classes had been scheduled Friday at the center.

The Binghamton SWAT team responded, and the FBI was sending hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to the scene. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also sending agents to Binghamton.

Indications were that the shooter was a young male, the law enforcement official said.

The American Civic Association is an organization that helps immigrants in the Binghamton area with naturalization applications, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The association describes itself as helping immigrants and refugees with counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification and translators.

The association's president, Angela Leach, "is very upset right now," said Mike Chanecka, a friend who answered a call at her home as Leach wept in the background.

"She doesn't know anything; she's as shocked as anyone," Chanecka said. "For some reason, she had the day off today. And she's very worried about her secretary."

Five people with gunshot wounds were being treated at Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, according to hospital spokeswoman Christina Boyd.

The wounded ranged in age from 20 to their mid-50s, and their conditions ranged from stable to critical, she said.

Linda Miller, a spokeswoman at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, said a student from Binghamton University was being treated there.

The shooting occurred in a mixed neighborhood of homes and small businesses in the center of Binghamton, a city of about 47,000 located 140 miles northwest of New York City.

College student Leslie Shrager told the AP that she and her five housemates were sleeping when police pounded on the front door of their house next door to the shooting scene.

Officers escorted the six Binghamton University students outside, she said, and that's when they learned of the shooting.

"One of our housemates thought they heard banging of some kind. But when you're living in downtown Binghamton, it's always noisy," said Shrager, of Slingerlands, an Albany suburb. "Literally two minutes later the cops came and got us out."

At the junction of the Susquehanna and the Chenango rivers, the Binghamton area was the home to Endicott-Johnson shoe company and the birthplace of IBM, which between them employed tens of thousands of workers before the shoe company closed a decade ago and IBM downsized in recent years.

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Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers George M. Walsh and Chris Carola in Albany and Devlin Barrett in Washington.